Speak up!

Being afraid of public speaking is a fear acknowledged by so many adults. It’s no surprise then that children are afraid of it too.

Rather than having these children grow into adults holding onto that fear, drama gives them the opportunity to develop their speech and gain confidence in speaking publicly.

The speech activities in the Helen O’ Grady Drama Academy is a great, if not the best way to develop your child’s speech and build their confidence.

For 20 years we’ve seen amazing results. And not only that, it’s sooooo much fun!

From Articulation to Projection to Resonance and Expression, our students are exposed to and experience a wide range of exercises that prepare them for whatever task school, tertiary and adulthood brings.

The Show Goes on at Hebron Christian Academy

Hebron Christian Academy has been part of Helen O’ Grady’s story in the northern suburbs for years.

Some days the classes are so full there isn’t a venue at the school to accommodate us! But we always make a plan, as they say, “The show must go on.”

The gems at this school are usually full of life, full of smiles and full of character. No lesson is without laughs, lessons and fun.

Last week was no different.

The Lower Primary group showed off their vivid imaginations as they took to the floor with introductory activities, movement and the ever-popular group improves. The Upper Primary students did not disappoint during their session when they were given the opportunity to create their own snippets.

We love bringing Helen O’ Grady internationally renowned curriculum to this special group of students. What joy!

Come On Over to Kuils River

Our Kuils River studio is ever-growing.

Growing in numbers and growing in strength as students give their best week in and week out.

The Jan van Riebeeck hall is transformed into a centre of drama magic every Thursday afternoon from 3pm to 6pm. Students from the area file in for their dose of Helen O’ Grady learning and lessons and laughter.

 

Kuils River students lighting up the stage with their creativity!

Older faces and new ones take to the stage and bring exuberance, enthusiasm and energy.

If you are in the Kuils River area, stop by, say hello, come for a free trial and join in the ACTion.

We’re there every Thursday afternoon:

15h00-16h00  Lower Primary

16h00-17h00  Upper Primary

17h00-18h00  Youth Theatre

Keep your eye on our Facebook page for news and updates

If you are in the Durbanville area...

Our Durbanville classes rock!
Well, all of our classes do but today we celebrate Durbanville.

Our teacher, Lize, is inspired and inspiring and the ever-growing class is testament to that.



Classes take place at the All Saints Church (across Durbanville Primary School) every Wednesday:

15:00 - 16:00  Lower Primary
16:00 - 17:00  Upper Primary
17:00 - 18:00  Youth Theatre

A Mime is Worth a Thousand Words

At Helen O’ Grady we love miming and teaching our students the art of miming.

What is mime and why do we teach it?

Mime is not simply mimicking, it’s recreation

When we mime we get to create illusions.

Mime challenges us to imagine a new world and create a new world for us as the performer as well as for our audience.

During mime students are learning to use their bodies and facial expressions.

They learn to communicate effectively without using sounds and words.

A Mime to Music is a sequence of miming to create and tell a story. It’s one of the favourite activities for our students to do and for teachers to show.

Paarl students performing The Marionettes

Rainbow Montessori students performing The Marionettes

Last week our students enjoyed a Mime to Music called The Marionettes. During this item students are paired together as operators and their beloved marionettes. This gave students a further challenge to move together as partners WITHOUT SPEAKING! Oh what a challenge, but oh what fun.

They rose to the occasion and we might just have to save this one for Parent Day ;)

Make a Dramatic Difference at School

Helen O’ Grady offers drama classes at a number of studios across the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town as well as the Winelands areas.

We also offer drama as an after school programme at a number of schools.
While some may question the merits of a drama programme at a school with an already full extra-curricular programme, we offer these answers:

Drama at school stimulates CREATIVITY IN PROBLEM SOLVING
Drama activities can CHALLENGE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS about their world and about themselves.
Dramatic exploration as seen in our lessons can provide students with an outlet for EMOTIONS, THOUGHTS and DREAMS, that they might not otherwise have a platform to EXPRESS.
With our improvisations students can BECOME ANOTHER, explore a new role, try out and experiment with various personal choices and solutions to very real problems- or problems faced by characters in literature or historical figures.

De Tyger's Primary Group doing an Improv

Of course, at the core of Helen O’ Grady is COMMUNICATION, CONFIDENCE and CREATIVITY.

In this way drama REINFORCES the rest of the school curriculum giving students the all-round development they need.